A Midwinter Day's Nightmare
by Dana Katherine Scully
Summary: When little William find the mysterious "love flower" from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," he finds a million ways to make his parents' lives miserable.


Title: A Midwinter Day's Nightmare  
  
Author: Dana Katherine Scully  
  
Category: Crossover between XF/Shakespeare's "Midsummer  
Night's Dream", Mulder/Scully romance  
  
Spoilers: Mild "Field Trip," not much else that I can   
think of  
  
Description: When a three year old William finds the  
mysterious love flower from the famous Midsummer Night's  
Dream, he finds a million ways to make his parents' lives  
miserable. Caution: You will not understand this story at  
all if you haven't read Midsummer Night's Dream.   
  
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not mine at  
all! They belong to the Bard and 1013. No copyright  
infringement intended.  
  
  
"A Midwinter Day's Nightmare"  
  
Dana Katherine Scully stood in the doorway to her living  
room, hands on her hips, as she surveyed the lovely pile of  
toys and something that stunk sitting smack dab in the  
middle of her white carpet. "William Scully you get in here  
right now!" she called, her voice betraying her  
exasperation.   
  
Within seconds, a little tuft of red hair poked around the  
corner of the wall. "Yes Mommy?" the little voice pleaded  
sweetly.   
  
But Special Agent Scully was not to be dissuaded. "Who made  
this mess William?" she asked firmly.   
  
"William did," said William, pointing a pudgy finger at his  
chest. "But William very sorry," he continued, "And William  
never do it again." He nodded emphatically for emphasis.   
  
"Come in here and pick it up please," Scully said, her eyes  
softening.   
  
"But Mommy..." William whined.  
  
"No buts William," she stated firmly. "You need to learn to  
pick up after yourself."  
  
William's little lip trembled. His eyes filled with tears.  
"Mommy, I can't," he whined.  
  
"Why not?" Scully asked, trying hard not to give him an  
inch.  
  
"Because my leg hurts," he stated, suddenly doubling over  
and grasping it. "Ow, ow Mommy!"  
  
Scully walked over and kissed his knee. "There. All better.  
Now pick up your toys."  
  
William looked heart broken, but he went into the room and  
began the task that every three-year-old dreads: cleaning  
up. Scully smiled wanly, and walked back into her bedroom to  
get ready for work. Meanwhile, William had other plans.  
  
  
Fox Mulder met Mrs. Scully at her daughter's door. He smiled  
at her, and she asked, "How are you this morning Fox?"  
  
Mulder thought, Well, my bed fell in last night, my roof  
started leaking, my fish died, and now I get to baby-sit for  
the little terror, who is likely my son and needs a father  
but doesn't even call me Daddy! Of course Scully's never let  
him get DNA testing for paternity, oh no, even though he  
might be my child she doesn't want him to endure all the  
poking! All in all I'm great thanks! Instead he said, "I'm  
fine, thank you."  
  
Mrs. Scully smiled again, then knocked for the third time.  
"Dana?" she called.  
  
There was a cry from inside; "One second Mom!"  
  
She and Mulder stood at the door for another few minutes  
before Scully opened the door.  
  
Mulder was always a little shocked when he saw her these  
days. She was no longer the nicely polished woman he had  
known. She had the glow of motherhood about her, yet somehow  
the scraggly hair and bags under her eyes made her look  
somewhat......haggard. Oh well. She was his Scully, and her  
baby, as much as he complained, was as much his as if he  
knew he was the father.   
  
"Hi," she breathed, looking rather hurried. Then she saw  
Mulder. "Mulder what are you doing here?"  
  
He smiled. "I came to tell you that one, I have a job, and  
two, Agent Doggett just called and gave you the day off  
because the decision from OPR about Agent Reyes 'misconduct'  
hasn't yet been rendered, and until it is the X-Files is  
closed, so I decided to spend the day with you guys."  
  
Scully nodded. "Okay......" She gestured them inside.  
"Anyway, what about this job?" she asked Mulder as she  
closed the door behind him.   
  
Mulder smiled. "You're not going to believe me, but I'm now  
an employee of the Georgetown Memorial Hospital Psychiatric  
Ward. They were a little reluctant to hire me because I've  
been a patient there and just earned my M.D. this year, but  
they said I was the best they could come up with."  
  
Scully smiled encouragingly. "That's great Mulder," she  
said, while washing William's breakfast bowl. "Thank God  
I've got the day off," she said. "I might be able to  
partially restore order around here."  
  
Mulder took the unfinished bowl from her hands. "Scully you  
need some rest," he said. "Go lie down for a while, I'll  
clean the kitchen."  
  
Scully's eyes betrayed her gratitude, but she wouldn't hand  
him control until she was SURE he was alright with it.  
"Mulder are you sure?" she asked, hoping that yes, he was  
quite sure thank you.  
  
"Yep," he said, already filling the sink with water and  
suds.   
  
"Thank you," Scully whispered in his ear. Her arms came up  
around his waste, and she planted a small kiss on his cheek,  
standing on tip toe to do so. He turned his head to catch  
her lips, but she was already shuffling off to her bedroom.  
  
He smiled, dismissed Scully's mother from baby duty, then  
returned to washing the dishes.  
  
  
An hour later...  
  
Mulder heard the door to Scully's bedroom creak open while  
he was "de-gooing" the rug.  
  
"Hey Scully," he said as he scrubbed the Goo Gone into the  
rug. When she didn't reply he looked up and saw that William  
was the one who had just emerged from the bedroom. "Oh hey  
buddy!" he began. "Whatcha got there?" he asked when he saw  
the flower in William's little hand.   
  
"Flower for Mommy," he stated matter-of-factly.   
  
Mulder nodded. What a gentleman, he thought, chuckling.  
Wait a minute... "William why didn't you give her the  
flower?" he asked.   
  
William walked over to the man he knew as Mulder. "She made  
me clean up the mess," he explained, defiantly crossing his  
arms across his chest. "I put stuff on her eyes," he said.  
At Mulder's alarmed expression he tried to justify his  
actions: "She puts stuff on her eyes every morning."  
  
Mulder looked slightly confused. "What stuff did you put on  
her eyes?" he asked, getting worried.   
  
"This stuff." William elaborated by squeezing a little bit  
of juice from the flower onto the spot Mulder had just  
cleaned.   
  
"Oh no William!!" Mulder yelled, frustrated. Then hearing  
Scully stir (and William start to cry) and quieted his  
voice.  
  
"William I just cleaned that rug!" he whisper-yelled.  
  
William sobbed. "But Daddy!" he sniffled.  
  
Mulder stopped dead on his way to the kitchen. "Wh-what?" he  
stuttered.  
  
William kept sobbing. "Daddy I didn't know!!!"  
  
Before Mulder could continue his interrogation, there was a  
knock on the door.   
  
Well, more like a pound.   
  
"Agent Scully!" called Agent Doggett from the hallway.  
"Agent Scully!"  
  
Mulder quickly ran to get the door, but the damage was done.  
Scully walk-stumbled to the door, eyes still closed  
sleepily, and without even a glance at Mulder, she opened  
the door and her eyes, still sticky with the flower juice.  
  
"But soft! Before my eyes hast my true love appeared!"  
Scully's soft blue eyes seemed to drink in the sight of  
Agent Doggett. Mulder was slightly confused.  
  
"Okay Scully, come on it's not funny." He tried to make a  
weird face and make her laugh, but when he tried to look her  
in the eye, she ran to Agent Doggett.  
  
Agent Doggett seemed just as confused as Mulder. "Wait a  
minute. Agent Scully..."  
  
"Oh spite! Oh hell!" Scully cried. "Only shalt my surname be  
spilt from mine true love's tongue! My name, fair John,  
spoken from thy lips, shalt be to me as delicious as the  
summer rain to the cowslips! My name..." she gushed.  
  
"Now that's enough Agent Scully," Doggett said, but Scully  
winced as if in pain at his "Agent Scully."  
  
"Dana," he began, more gently. "Agent Mulder's getting a  
little antsy over there..." Doggett would have continued,  
but he saw that past "Dana," Agent Scully hadn't heard a  
word.  
  
Meanwhile, Mulder was getting REALLY antsy. "Scully, how  
long has this been going on?" he asked through gritted  
teeth.   
  
For the first time since Scully had seen Doggett, she turned  
to Mulder. "Since time, and yet not. Since life hath made  
itself known to me have I loved my John, and only before  
life's first breath did I run with you. Therefore, bootless  
excuse for a man, be gone with you!" She made a sweeping  
gesture with her hand, as if to shoo him away, but Mulder  
refused to be shooed.  
  
Doggett piped in, "Agent Mulder if there's something goin'  
on here I had no idea."  
  
"Alright Scully look. I don't know what's wrong with you,  
but I hope you see what you're throwing away here." Vaguely  
he registered William escaping into the hallway with a new  
flower, but he wasn't really paying attention.   
  
Agent Doggett, who was getting more and more confused by the  
minute, suddenly felt Agent Scully's hand massaging his  
neck, and jumped away. "Now look here Dana. This is getting  
ridiculous. I just came to tell you that OPR suspended Agent  
Reyes indefinitely."  
  
Mulder's face fell; his X-Files were in danger again. "How  
is Agent Reyes?" he asked, trying to change the subject to  
help him resist the primal urge to strangle Scully.  
  
"She's scared," Doggett said bluntly. "She really needs the  
job, and her specialty is rather limiting."  
  
Mulder nodded, his anger at the current situation flaring up  
again. "How long have you been seeing Agent Scully?"  
  
Doggett looked up at Mulder sharply, as if his head was  
jerked up by a rope attached to Mulder's words. "What?!" he  
asked incredulously.  
  
"How long have you been seeing Agent Scully?" he asked  
again, more slowly.  
  
"Agent Mulder my relationship with Agent Scully is strictly  
professional," Doggett said, voice bordering on awed.  
  
"Bullshit!" Mulder exploded. Scully looked stunned, and  
Mulder turned to her, appealing to her. "I heard those same  
words from my own mouth the day I fell in love with you!"  
  
Scully seemed unmoved by Mulder's tirade, but Agent Doggett  
had started to suspect that this was no joke. "Agent Scully,  
I have to ask, what brought on this sudden change of heart?"  
  
"Thou asks the impossible; the reasons for my devotion are  
innumerable and beyond elaboration. My kiss bestow'd upon  
thine lips will prove the only explanation." She reached up  
to kiss him, but he pulled away.   
  
"Agent Scully this is too weird."  
  
"'Too weird, too weird' laments my love; this mystery of  
true devotion beyond thy comprehension? This love burning in  
my breast; methinks it cannot be false! Hark! The flames  
crackle and pop! Hear the beatings of mine heart against  
thine own!" Scully passionately drew Doggett to her chest.  
She was a petite woman, but he was amazed at the fact that  
it took considerable exertion on his part to extricate  
himself from her grip.   
  
"Agent Scully I hope you can get your act together," he  
gasped, finally out of her grasp. In his rush to get away,  
he tripped over his legs and, hitting his head against the  
floor, he fell unconscious.   
  
Scully practically threw herself onto him, sobbing  
hysterically. Mulder saw now that this was no joke;  
something weird had happened to her. He also saw that Agent  
Doggett was as confused as he, and that William's flower  
had....wait a minute. Where was William?  
  
"William!!" Mulder cried, running back into the house.  
"William!!"   
  
As he frantically searched Scully's apartment for her son,  
Mulder came across a vase full of the purple flowers William  
had used on Scully's eyes. He made a mental note to have  
them analyzed, but William still hadn't been found.  
  
When he came back out to the hallway to inform Scully that  
her son was missing, she found her playing with him, flower  
in his hand. "Thou art my most precious gem," she cooed to  
William, who laughed and said, "Mommy talks funny."  
  
Mulder grabbed William from his mother's arms, put him down  
on the floor, and squatted down to just above his level. "Do  
you have any idea what you just put me through?!" he  
scolded, eyes starting to tear. "Do you know?!"  
  
William began to cry. "D-d-d-daddy!!" he sobbed. "I didn't  
m-m-mean to!"   
  
Mulder stopped dead again. "William what did you just call  
me?" he asked, very slowly.   
  
William looked up at Mulder, relieved that he might not have  
to be scolded. And in that moment, Mulder realized that he  
was looking into his own eyes. "William did you call me  
'Daddy?'" Mulder asked gently, his eyes full of tears.  
  
William nodded slowly. Mulder's tears spilled over, and he  
hugged the boy close to him. "I hope so buddy," he said,  
smiling as he felt William's little arms around his neck.  
  
Just as Mulder was starting to ignore Scully, she began  
wailing over Agent Doggett's unconscious state. Mulder  
picked William up and carried the boy to his mother. He  
intended to teach William a lesson about playing with  
chemicals he knew nothing about, but he noticed that Agent  
Doggett's eyes had already been sloppily anointed with he  
flower's juice, and he knew of no antidote.   
  
As he prepared to take William inside, he heard someone's  
footsteps in the hallway. Within seconds, Agent Reyes came  
into view.   
  
"Agent Mulder! It's nice to see you," she said, although  
Mulder could see right through her facade and she knew it.  
Then she saw Scully sobbing over Agent Doggett.  
  
Agent Reyes immediately rushed over to Agent Doggett,  
checking vital signs and informing Agent Mulder that she had  
never seen Agent Scully in quite such a condition herself.  
Should they call an ambulance? No? Okay........   
  
"Agent Scully, are you alright?" Reyes asked, keeping on her  
investigator voice.  
  
"How canst thou ask such a question? My love lays injured  
and thou inquireth after my health!? How darest thou!?"  
  
At Agent Reyes's startled look, Mulder explained, "William  
put some stuff on her eyes. She fell in love with Doggett  
and started talking like Shakespeare." Mulder tried to make  
his explanation non-chalant, but Reyes could hear the worry  
in his voice.  
  
"Agent Mulder this may sound rather foolish, but did you  
ever read 'A Midsummer Night's Dream?'" Agent Reyes asked.  
  
William piped up, "Mommy wead [read] that to me. It was the  
kid vewjin [version]." He nodded all-knowingly. "I'm like  
Puck," he continued. "I use flowers for ev-wee-one  
[everyone]."  
  
Reyes's face started to register comprehension. Then she  
went over to Doggett's side and gently shook him awake.  
"John!" she said.  
  
His eyes opened slowly, and finally Reyes's face came into  
focus. "My dearest love, what angel art thou? The raven's  
wing could not compare to thine hair, nor thy glorious dark  
eyes! Thou must be as wise as thou art lovely, and thou art  
more fair than Diana herself!"  
  
William giggled. "He talks funny too!"   
  
Mulder's face registered shock. Agent Reyes just laughed.  
"John, you're a nice guy, but I don't think you've got the  
right girl."  
  
Special Agent John Doggett was stabbed to the core. "My love  
hast forsaken me? Oh woe is me!!! O but mine eye could see  
another; oh but thy sweet self should be mine!"  
  
"My love, do not see another!" Scully piped in, her face  
also falling. "Look to me my John, see my devotion! That  
which she cannot offer can be yours from mine own heart! Thy  
face...."  
  
"Never shall I love you!" Doggett declared, jumping wildly  
to his feet. "Never shalt I bestow my love upon your  
crippled soul!"  
  
Mulder stepped in before Doggett tried to slit a weeping  
Scully's throat. "Knock it off!" he shouted. William covered  
his ears. "I don't want to hear a word out of either of  
you!"  
  
Doggett and Scully shut right up, and Mulder escorted  
everyone inside due to the rather curious glances of  
Scully's neighbors. After sitting Doggett and Scully down in  
separate rooms, and putting William in bed for his nap  
(which he was NOT too happy about), Mulder sat down with  
Reyes at the kitchen table. They quietly discussed the  
decision from OPR over lemonade.  
  
"Suspension?" asked Mulder.  
  
"Indefinite, without pay," Reyes replied, downcast. "I need  
this job. I'm helping my sister put her son through  
college."  
  
"How old's your sister?"  
  
"She's 34. Her son was born when she was 14."  
  
Mulder's jaw dropped. "Fourteen?!"  
  
"Fourteen," she repeated, then yawned.   
  
Mulder silently prayed that that would NEVER happen to his  
daughter (if he had one). Then he asked, "Would you like to  
lie down?"  
  
She looked at him gratefully. "Please. I'm exhausted."  
  
Mulder nodded, then got up and beckoned for her to follow  
him. "We converted the guest room into a bedroom for William  
when he outgrew the bassinet, but you can still sleep in  
there. Just please let him nap okay?"  
  
"No problem here," Reyes replied, yawning again.  
  
Mulder smiled as he opened the door to William's room,  
revealing a dark room with Winnie the Pooh wallpaper and a   
double bed that was never removed from the room. The night  
light in the corner illuminated the room with a soft yellow  
glow. William, lying in his navy blue crib, was sleeping  
soundly, his little chest rising and falling. "He's  
beautiful Mulder. Really," whispered Agent Reyes. "And what  
wonderful parents he has," she added, seemingly to herself.  
  
Mulder shrugged, shaking off the very fatherly urge to brag  
about how smart and funny his little William was. "Well, you  
can lay down right there," he whispered, indicating the "big  
person" bed.   
  
Agent Reyes nodded to him gratefully, then went into the  
room. Mulder smiled back, a hint of sadness in his eyes.  
"Don't worry Mulder. Dana will be fine."  
  
Mulder nodded, although he didn't believe her. "Have a nice  
rest," he said.  
  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Scully had snuck into John Doggett's room while Mulder  
wasn't looking, and the two were at present engaged in a  
passionate....argument.  
  
"Hast thou gone mad?!" Scully asked, her newly acquired  
British accent showing that her "illness" was progressing.  
"Thou canst not understand that thy infatuation with love's  
very opposite will yet become boredom and despair! Thou  
canst not want such!"  
  
"But thou canst not see beyond thine own rose-painted  
sphere, for thine own love should prove murder to those  
fools that receive it!" Agent Doggett hadn't quite yet  
developed the English accent, but he was getting close. He  
pronounced his vowels like a Brit.   
  
"O how canst my love be more stubborn? A mule, a crude and  
soiled mule could not compare to thy stubbornness!"  
  
"Thou hypocrite!" proclaimed Doggett loudly. "Thou  
professeth true love yet thou snear'st in true love's face,  
and love call false!"  
  
Mulder burst in and whisper-yelled, "The baby is sleeping!  
Not a word out of either of you. Scully get back in your  
room!!"  
  
Scully walked over to him from Doggett's side, spat in his  
face, and went back to her room.  
  
Mulder's face fell. He had still harbored some hope that the  
mention of Scully's baby might bring her around, but there  
was no hope for her. As he wiped the spit off his face, he  
decided to make himself some tea.  
  
Just as he was sitting down to drink it, he heard "Daddy!"  
Apparently the little terror wasn't going to be napping  
today. Mulder hoped his cries hadn't awakened Agent Reyes;  
she looked like she needed a nap. He got up, sighed, then  
walked down to the bedroom.  
  
He got in there and picked William up from his crib. "Hey  
buddy!" he whispered. William giggled, dropping the flower  
in his hands back into the crib before Mulder could notice  
it.   
  
Behind Mulder, Agent Reyes sat up in bed, saw Mulder, and  
jumped up. "Wilst thou turn and allow me thy face to look  
upon?"   
  
"Oh damn," Mulder said, slowly turning to her. "Agent  
Reyes..."  
  
"O but thy lips should speak my true name! I know not why  
true love should take the form of so impersonal a name.  
Please good sir, call me by the name Monica."   
  
"Agent Reyes, don't start with me," Mulder admonished as he  
closed the door.   
  
Right after the click of the door shutting, Mulder heard a  
wail from inside. "Dear God," he sighed. William giggled.   
  
  
Several Hours Later  
  
A pounding on the door woke Mulder from his nap on the  
couch. He started awake and immediately searched for  
William. After realizing that William had finally fallen  
asleep (on top of Daddy of course), Mulder gently stood up,  
cradling his son against his chest. Then he swiped both eyes  
with the back of his hand, and discovering no sticky  
substance, decided that maybe Skinner's yelling meant that  
he'd better get the door.   
  
"Shhhhh!" he admonished as he opened the door, pointing at  
the sleeping three-year-old in his arms.   
  
Skinner nodded, and stepped inside. "I sent Agent Doggett  
over here to speak to Agent Scully," he whispered, sounding  
slightly confused. "Where are they?"  
  
Mulder looked at Skinner pointedly, then whispered, "I  
suppose you'll find out sooner or later." He then proceeded  
to explain the events of the morning, on through now (4:00  
in the afternoon) and describe everyone's.....condition.   
  
"Scully's gone completely," Mulder said first, referring to  
her new Julie Andrews-esque accent and Shakespearean speech  
pattern, and also her incessant wailing, which had lulled  
momentarily while she slept; sheer exhaustion from the  
morning's exertions overcoming her completely.  
  
"Agent Doggett's not far from Agent Scully," Mulder  
continued. He hadn't started moaning yet.  
  
"And Agent Reyes has just recently developed the British  
accent," he finished.   
  
Skinner was having a terrible time keeping from laughing.  
"You mean to tell me," he began, voice still professional  
but cracking, "that Agent Scully's three year old has  
suddenly become Puck the Mischief Maker and has proceeded to  
destroy everything you hold sacred?"  
  
Mulder simply stared at him, and repeated a line he'd used  
on Scully years ago; "It sounds like shit when you say it."  
  
Skinner was trying very hard to keep a straight face, but  
his facade was weakly constructed, and finally crumbled.  
"Mulder, you're crazy," Skinner said, a grin still trying to  
break onto his face.   
  
Finally Mulder cracked. It was just too humiliating. "Would  
you stop disbelieving and at least see for yourself?!" he  
yelled at the top of his lungs. William awoke with a start  
and started to wail, which woke Scully, Doggett, and Reyes,  
and the house became a cacophonous mad house of wails and  
cries. The cries of the Shakespeare-overtaken adults (and  
little William) were enough to wake the dead.  
  
Skinner didn't need to pretend not to be laughing anymore.  
In fact he had an expression of horrified wonder on his  
face. He stood there with his hands over his ears just  
staring. With *that* look.  
  
"You see what I'm saying?" said Mulder, as three alien  
British voices clamored for each other. Mulder's morbid side  
kicked in, and he could barely keep from laughing at  
Skinner's expression. "What the HELL are you going to do?!"  
shouted Skinner above the din.  
  
"Well, rationality seems to have had little affect," Mulder  
imparted to Skinner. "Therefore my approach will now center  
around a less rational thought; inspire jealousy and have  
them all duel to the death."   
  
Skinner's horrified expression told Mulder his crack hadn't  
had the desired affect. In fact Skinner hadn't realized it  
was a joke at all. "Mulder I hardly think that's the  
solution to the problem," Skinner shouted back.  
  
Mulder nodded, turning his attention to the boy in his arms.  
"Hey Buddy," he whispered in William's ear. The toddler was  
upset by the noise, but he seemed to relax when he heard his  
Daddy's voice. Mulder saw the effect it had on the boy and  
continued to whisper to him; whispering nothing that really  
meant anything, as parents do to children. He calmed down,  
but William was beginning to miss his Mommy.  
  
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!!!" Mulder screamed at the top of his  
lungs.   
  
For one sacred moment, the house was silent. Then Scully  
started to whimper, Doggett began pleading for Agent Reyes,  
and Reyes couldn't contain her rather comical Shakespearean  
insults. "Milk-liver!" she would cry. "Loveless coward!"  
Then she would break down into tears, apparently still  
pining away for Mulder.   
  
"This is ridiculous," Mulder said. "Sir, I'm sorry but I  
can't deal with this anymore. I'm gonna take William out to  
Mickey-Ds for a while. Keep an eye on things, will you?"  
With that, Mulder left and headed out to his new SUV (he'd  
bought it when William was born.)  
  
Skinner simply stood in the middle of the living room for a  
moment, then wearily sat down on the couch. As he lay back  
and tried to block out the yelling, he noticed that one  
voice had stopped. That voice was Agent Scully's.  
Remembering from several years ago when he'd been in  
Scully's apartment, Skinner knew where her bedroom was. He  
ventured in, and found her fast asleep on the bed. Her  
eyelids were giving off a very faint pink glow, and her hair  
seemed to have grown 3 feet. It was now down to about her  
hips, and brilliantly gleaming in the sunlight from her  
window. Skinner walked over to the bed and whispered to her.  
"Agent Scully?"  
  
She rolled over in her sleep, but did not open her eyes.   
  
"Agent Scully!" he whispered again, a little louder. This  
time she moaned a little but didn't awake. Why he was trying  
to wake her he couldn't say, but he was slightly  
disconcerted by the rapid growth of her hair and thought  
maybe it was a new stage in this odd transformation they all  
seemed to be undergoing. Apparently Mulder's  
investigative/observatory skills were getting rusty; he  
hadn't reported any kind of transitional phases.   
  
He got very close to her ear, and then whisper-yelled "Agent  
Scully!!"  
  
She awoke with a start, and immediately saw Skinner. "Who  
dare'st waken me?!"  
  
Skinner was a bit shocked, even after Mulder's warnings.  
"Agent Scully this is ridiculous," he began.  
  
Scully cut in. "And who are you, sir, to judge true love and  
deem it 'ridiculous'? Are you a heavenly deity? No, I  
suppose not."   
  
"Nobody said anything about love, Agent Scully."  
  
She stared coldly at him. "Then I be deaf." With that, she  
lay down and immediately fell back into sleep.  
  
Skinner left her room and puzzled over the problem at hand.  
What could prove an antidote for this certain illness? A  
different flower's juice? Well, what was the opposite of the  
flower William had painted their eyes with? He knew that it  
was purple, so maybe a red flower, one part of purple, would  
prove to be an antidote. He began to search her house for a  
red flower.   
  
Skinner found the vase containing the flower William had  
used. Interspersed with William's purple irises' were red  
lilies. He pulled one from the flower arrangement and  
decided to call Mulder before testing his theory on any of  
the afflicted persons.   
  
Using his cell phone, Skinner dialed Mulder's. He noticed  
that everyone had fallen into the same comatose-like state  
as Agent Scully, which made using the phone much easier.   
  
Mulder answered his cell phone with a gruff, "Mulder."  
  
"Mulder it's Skinner. I think I found an antidote."  
  
Skinner could almost hear Mulder's mind working. "We'll be  
right there," Mulder replied after a moment.  
  
  
A few minutes later......  
  
Skinner applied the red flower juice to Scully's eyes, then  
stood back. Mulder stood behind Skinner, holding William.  
Scully stirred, then awoke. Her eyes settled on Skinner.  
Then, "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"  
  
William started to cry, Skinner jumped two feet into the  
air, and Scully scurried from the bed and tried to get as  
far away from Skinner as possible. She shook with fear. "Get  
away from me!!"   
  
Mulder thought Hey, at least she's talking normally.  
"Scully, it's alright, it's just Skinner." He walked towards  
her slowly, William now slightly more calm.   
  
"Mulder he's trying to kill me!" she whispered to him,  
clutching her clothing fretfully in clenched fists.   
  
"Scully he's not trying to kill you; he's trying to help  
you!" Mulder was thoroughly annoyed. This business was  
getting out of hand. "Scully this is ridiculous!"  
  
He marched out of the room, Skinner close on his heels. The  
door was shut, and all seemed well for a moment. Mulder  
stood in the middle of the hallway that Scully's room opened  
onto, balancing William on his hip. Then it hit him.  
  
  
Ten Minutes later.....  
  
Mulder stood beside Scully's bed as she again slept. Agent  
Doggett, who had been dragged by both Mulder and Skinner,  
stood next to him, looking very confused. Doggett held the  
red flower Skinner had just applied to Scully's eyes.  
  
"Now John, this is a magic flower," Mulder explained  
carefully. "It will make Scully not like you anymore. But,  
YOU have to be the one to apply it. Okay?"  
  
Doggett nodded warily. "How shall I see to the task?" he  
asked.  
  
Mulder told him how to apply the flower, and he did.  
Scully's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around the  
room. "Mulder? Whuh....wait. Agent Doggett what are you  
doing here? And Skinner, sir, what's going on?"  
  
Mulder breathed a deep sigh of relief, and Agent Doggett  
huffed, "'Tis a good riddance!" and left the room. Skinner  
was relieved, and said, "Glad to have you back Agent  
Scully." He then left to have Reyes fix Doggett.  
  
After everyone had left, Mulder sat down beside Scully on  
her bed, his head in his hands. He was so relieved that  
tears were coming to his eyes, and little William was so  
happy that his Mommy was all better that he ran over, sat in  
her lap, kissed her, then promptly fell asleep. "Mulder,  
what was that all about?" asked Scully, bewildered.   
  
Mulder smiled, his tears dissipating. As he placed a sound  
kiss on her lips and played with her new long hair he  
whispered, "Long story."  
  
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*  
  
Je finis! Feedback greatly appreciated:  
Dana_Katherine_Scully64@yahoo.com 


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